Planet B-17: The Beginnings

Chapter 29: A Way Was Made

How incredible it is that all the left and right turns may form the straightest way!

Book of Ómas, verse one

Captain Soo Beran was following Aanas through the dense, white mist into the fifth-dimensional city of Ébor. He could see his guide only partially at times, and the mist appeared to be combing gently through his being; then came a flight of steps before them, going up; eyes ever upon Aanas, Beran climbed step after step. With the corner of his eyes, he soon began to spot a hallway they were passing through, long and narrow, made of a fabric smooth as vapour, but dense and opaque; intermittently, right and left, stood torch-pillars made of stone, the Fire of Wisdom alight in every basin; then murmurs could be heard, and he spotted an opening to the left, leading into a doorless chamber; and still, the city's Lord went on, up a new flight of stairs, into a higher level.

As they came out from the mist, Soo Beran could see they were upon a platform. The same sheen gleamed across it, a thin layer of white mist lingered upon it, and the ceiling and walls were akin clear clouds in the sky.

"This is a Gateway into Ébor," said Aanas in his peaceful tone. "There are Seven in total. Two, you shall pass through. One depends on the other. Now answer me this so I may allow you to pass."

The Captain nodded.

"If I, although uncaged, find myself in bondage, and there are countless strings to all my needs and my desires, what actions must I employ to set myself forever free?"

The Captain pondered. "I would revise the needs and the desires, one at a time, and weigh the cost of each."

Aanas was listening keenly, but unhurriedly.

"Then I would free myself of all those that hold me in bondage. With only the essentials remaining, resources may be spared."

"What costs more," asked Aanas, "the price of all or the price of each?"

Beran reflected. "The cost of all is the sum of the price of each."

"And more," said Aanas. "Think beyond ordinary patterns."

It became clearer that by cost Aanas meant more than price.

"Costs," said Soo, "may indeed mean more than price." He revisited the question in his mind. "Were I to weigh the price of each, it would cost me more time, thus it would be costlier than weigh the price of all from an overall perspective. However, opting for the latter choice, I might overlook aspects, which might produce delays, again in time, and even more resources, to finally resolve the issue."

"Your mind is clouded by your role," said Aanas. "Think more clearly if you wish passage."

Return to the basics, Umani would say. What costs more: the price of all or the price of each? Then it dawned on him: he had already been given the answer by Aanas himself: the cost of all is more than the sum of the prices of each.

"You already gave me the answer," Soo said.

"Patience means more than not rushing," Aanas said. "It costs less to be thorough – however, not beyond what's needed – than to rush past the answers that, in doing so, you fail to reach."

"I shall keep that in mind," said Beran.

"Here's another chance: what is less: the road unknown, or the one taken?"

"The one taken is done deed," said Beran. "The unknown is yet to come, potentially, and when it does, it adds to the sum of knowledge of the world. Conversely, the road not yet taken weighs nothing yet, therefore my answer lies in balance."